How To Cook Real Pilaf: Secrets And Rules That You Can't Do Without

The choice of ingredients, their proportions, cooking features and even dishes - everything affects the quality of the finished dish. We reveal the secrets of cooking Uzbek pilaf.

Cooking real pilaf is a whole art that requires compliance with certain rules. The choice of ingredients, their proportions, cooking features and even dishes - everything affects the quality of the finished dish. We reveal the secrets of cooking Uzbek pilaf.

 

Preparation of ingredients

Rice

The main ingredient of pilaf is rice. Here the problems begin - no one can determine which type of rice is ideal for pilaf. The chefs agreed that it is best to choose Devzira rice or Tajik varieties. But in fact, pilaf can be prepared from other types of rice - the main thing is that the starch content is minimal.

Before cooking, rice should be thoroughly washed (until the water runs clear) and soaked in cold water for an hour or two. Thanks to such manipulations, the rice will not stick together during cooking.

Meat

Lamb is considered a classic ingredient, but it can be replaced with beef or pork (if you are not a Muslim). Chicken is not used in the preparation of pilaf. Preference should be given to the meat of adult animals, as it has a richer taste.

 

Meat for pilaf should be juicy - for this it needs to be cut into large pieces (about 5x5 cm). Don't salt the meat prematurely, as the salt draws out the moisture. It is better to salt while cooking.

Vegetables

Pilaf without onions and carrots is impossible. If everything is simple with onions (ordinary onions are suitable), then with carrots it is more difficult. The fact is that Asians cook pilaf mainly with yellow carrots, which are quite difficult to find here. If you can't get a rare ingredient, take an ordinary orange carrot. Like meat, vegetables should be cut into thick pieces.

Butter

Pilaf is not rice porridge, but rather a fatty dish with meat and vegetables. For 1 kg of rice, you need to take about 230 ml of vegetable oil. Asians use a combination of animal fat with odorless vegetable oil, or they cook exclusively with one of the two oils.

 

Spices

Every chef has a few secret pilaf ingredients in stock - and, as a rule, these are spices. Nevertheless, there are a number of fairly traditional seasonings. These are garlic, hot red pepper, zira, ground black pepper.

Dishes

For a real pilaf, only a cauldron with thick walls is suitable, since meat does not stick to it, and the rice warms up evenly. In extreme cases, you can use the duckling.

Cooking pilaf

For pilaf, you need to take equal parts (per kilogram) of rice, meat, carrots, 1-2 onions. Spices, garlic and seasonings are added to taste. 

 

In a cauldron, heat well 300 ml of oil and fat tail fat, if using.

 

Fry the sliced ​​onion until brown.

 

Gently fry the meat in oil until crispy: do not turn often, otherwise it will not turn out juicy. Add meat in small portions to keep the oil warm.

 

Add coarsely chopped carrots, hold for 3 minutes, then mix everything and fry for 10 minutes. 

 

Pour all the ingredients with hot water so that it covers the meat by 1-2 cm. Then add spices and seasonings. Salt the meat and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes (until the meat is tender) without a lid. 

 

Gently spread the rice washed to clear water over the surface of the meat.

 

Pour boiling water so that it covers the rice with a layer of 3 cm. 

 

Once the rice has absorbed the water, press the garlic cloves and peppers into it. Stew pilaf under the lid for 40 minutes until the rice is ready. 

 

Make a few punctures in the pilaf with a thin wooden skewer and leave it warm for 10-30 minutes.

 

Don't forget to remove the garlic and red pepper pod before serving. Bon appetit!